


A House is Not a Home

by rosegolddan



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Moving In Together, Phan - Freeform, Phandom - Freeform, Phanfiction, this is really sappy i'm sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-11-09 10:33:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11102748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosegolddan/pseuds/rosegolddan
Summary: Dan reminisces on how far he and Phil have come as they move out of their London apartment.





	A House is Not a Home

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this about a month ago on my Tumblr (rosegolddan) and figured I should post it here eventually! Enjoy!

If you would have told Dan in 2009 that he’d be living with his best friend 8 years later, he would have laughed at you. The prospect of living with Phil was one that Dan never thought would have happened. He still couldn’t believe that he had become friends with Phil after harassing him on Twitter endlessly. Back then, neither of them knew where their friendship would take them. He remembered that all he wanted in university was to live with his best friend, but knew that it would be practically impossible.

Dan remembered back in 2011 when he moved into the Manchester apartment with Phil. It all seemed incredibly unreal to him; he was actually moving in with someone who had inspired him to do something with his life. Sure, he was still working on that law degree but Phil made him have a purpose in making videos. Their Manchester apartment saw love grow and mental breakdowns as Dan had contemplated giving up entirely. And when that happened, Phil was there right beside him, helping him rediscover who he wanted to be. It was toward the end of their time in Manchester that he had realized how reliant he was on Phil. Dan still regrets how he started to shut Phil out and became more closed off from everything.

Moving to London helped a lot. They moved into their apartment and had little money left over to really make it into a home. They bought the cheapest furniture they could find and made it a home with what they could. It pained Dan to not be able to buy a lot of the things he wanted that would make it the home that he really wanted. For a long time, everything seemed bland and boring but, slowly, they added more and more to make it feel like it was finally their place. Dan reminisced on how those walls had seen both him and Phil grow into their current selves, with all the strange experiences and loud sounds. It had seen the birth of their gaming channel and the long nights planning their radio show. They wrote an entire book within those walls, going back through their lives, from when they were separate entities to now, where they couldn’t stand to be apart.

Then came planning a stage show and working out all of the intricate demands that that held. Their apartment became the place where they would drag themselves up the 47 stairs to collapse on the couch or in bed because they were exhausted and their legs were screaming in pain. It became a place where warm showers happened just to wash away the grime of rehearsing and a way to relax after working so hard. It became a safe place where no one could bother them about rehearsing lines or magic acts, just a place where they could be Dan and Phil.

Leaving for the tour was bittersweet; they were forced to leave the one sanctuary they had and live on the road for weeks at a time. But it didn’t really matter at the end of the day. Sure, they missed the comforts of their small apartment. But they had both figured out that they didn’t need that place to feel like they were home, they just needed to be with each other. Venues flew by until the final show had been played and they returned to the safety of the apartment, with much heavier bags and less space to put all of their things in. They had figured out that they were outgrowing the space they were in.

Dan lived in fear of the conversation of moving, although it was constantly at the back of their minds. It had gotten too hard to stay where they were, with the incessant noise surrounding them and the fear of having the place crumble around them. Dan didn’t know if he feared the impending destruction of the place or the fact that there was a possibility of living apart from each other. He knew it wouldn’t happen, obviously, but the fear that Phil would grow tired of him and his issues weighed heavily on his mind. These fears were calmed by the reassuring touches by Phil, the soft presses of lips to foreheads and the gentle touch of fingers on arms. Tucked into the side of the man he loved, Dan knew that everything would be okay.

That’s what he thought before, at least. Now, looking at how empty their apartment had become, Dan felt dread creep into his mind. How could he leave the place he had finally made into a home? He knew that not much would change in this new place, but then why did it feel so strange? While the final boxes were being moved out by some movers, Dan decided to walk around their place one last time. He managed to end up standing in Phil’s bedroom, a place that they had spent many a night in together. As he looked at that dumb wicker bed frame, he heard a voice call out.

“Dan!” shouted Phil.

“Yeah?” asked Dan, not moving from his spot in the room. Phil stood in the door frame, looking at his slightly morose boyfriend.

“All the stuff is packed into the moving van and we have to go hand over the keys. You ready to go?”

Dan turned to look at Phil. “Honestly,” Dan said, “not completely. I know we said we wouldn’t miss this place at all, but we made so many memories here. It just feels strange to leave it all behind.”

Phil walked up to him and encircled him in a hug. “I know Dan, but we can make a bunch of other memories in this new place as well,” he said, practically into Dan’s neck.

Dan smiled at that. He realized now that he could finally make a home with Phil, right from the start this time. There would be no financial worries or tensions between the two of them. They could create a life for themselves in this new place and pick up right where they left off. Phil broke off their embrace but intertwined their fingers.

“Come on Dan, it’s time,” Phil said. Dan nodded and they walked down all of those stairs together for the last time. As they handed over the keys, Dan couldn’t help but smile. They were going to be okay and create a new start together. The two of them got in the car together, sharing a smile. They both knew that a home wouldn’t be a home without each other.


End file.
